This blogger has now reached a pinnacle worth celebrating:
5,000 postings in seven years, two months and 18 days, starting on August 11, 2008.
We have seen many participants on this blog, and some major contributions to this blog by readers and contributors.
So this is a time to celebrate and look forward to many more thousands of postings over the coming years!
So John Boehner is now retired as Speaker of the House of Representatives, and Congressman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, head of the House Ways and Means Committee, and 2012 Vice Presidential nominee for Mitt Romney, is the new Speaker. So instead of being one heartbeat away from the Presidency as Vice President, Ryan is now two heartbeats away from the Presidency as Speaker of the House, and requires Secret Service protection, which will change his and his family’s lives dramatically!
Anyone who has read my blog regularly knows that I have not been a fan of Ryan, and in fact, was attacked by right wing websites for my strong opposition to Ryan.
However, this is a fresh start in the House of Representatives, and we should all wish Ryan good luck, as he tries to organize the Republican Party: deal with the Tea Party Freedom Caucus members (eleven of them not voting for him as Speaker); and learn to “cross the aisle” more and work with the Democratic minority.
Ryan has potential to be a great Speaker, but it all depends on how he deals with intransigent members.
Certainly, the nation needs a stable and competent House to do “the business of the people.”
I am pleased to announce two upcoming events relating to my new book–ASSASSINATIONS, THREATS, AND THE AMERICAN PRESIDENCY: FROM ANDREW JACKSON TO BARACK OBAMA (Rowman Littlefield Publishers, August 2015).
Next week, I will be visiting DC and going to the C Span studios and having a taped full hour interview with Brian Lamb on his Q & A show, which has been interviewing authors for many years, with one author per week, aired on Sunday night on C Span One at 8 pm Eastern, 11 pm Eastern repeated, and 6 am Eastern the next Monday morning. After being aired, the hour is put on the CSpan.org website permanently for viewing at any time.
Additionally, my lecture and book signing on my book at my university, Florida Atlantic University , at the Lifelong Learning Center in Jupiter, Florida, on Tuesday, December 8 230-4 pm and 4-5 pm book signing will be covered and taped by C Span 2, Book TV, aired at some point later, and then put permanently on the C Span website for viewing at any time.
These are tremendous opportunities for exposure of my book, and I am thrilled and very appreciative of this double blessing!
For the first nearly 52 years of the Republic, every President survived his term of office, from George Washington until William Henry Harrison.
Once Harrison died in office, we had a President die in every generation, with seven of the eight dying, having been elected in a zero election year–Harrison 1841, Abraham Lincoln 1865, James A. Garfield 1881, William McKinley 1901, Warren G. Harding 1923, Franklin D. Roosevelt 1945, and John F. Kennedy 1963, and joined by Zachary Taylor, dying in 1850, a zero year after being elected in 1848.
This became known as the “Zero Election Year Syndrome.” It occurred seven straight zero election years from 1840 to 1960. It was finally overcome when Ronald Reagan survived an assassination attempt in 1981, and when George W. Bush avoided tragedy on September 11 and throughout his Presidency, despite some serious threats.
Since JFK died, we have not had a Presidential death since, almost 52 years, although Richard Nixon did resign from office in 1974, even that being 41 years ago.
The question is how long can this new record of Presidential survival last, in a time of international terrorism and domestic turmoil.
There have been more death threats against Barack Obama than any President since Abraham Lincoln.
The last President to have a serious threat was Ronald Reagan, shot and seriously wounded in 1981, 34 years ago.
But every living President has had death threats, before, during, and after being in office.
A discussion of all these assassinations and threats are covered in my new book, ASSASSINATIONS, THREATS, AND THE AMERICAN PRESIDENCY: FROM ANDREW JACKSON TO BARACK OBAMA (Rowman Littlefield), out since August 15, and available at the R & L website with a 30 percent discount offer, or at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or Books A Million websites.
This author has done more than 25 radio interviews, and will be interviewed by C Span Q & A Brian Lamb next week, and the hour long interview will be available to be seen on C Span One a few weeks later at 8 pm, 11 pm on a Sunday night and 6 am the next Monday morning Eastern time, and will become part of the permanent interviews of Brian Lamb at C Span.org, available for interviewing anytime!